This Is Us
by XOXOSLMS24
Summary: Stiles and Lydia are living a life of domestic bliss in Beacon Hills, California. Things are going fantastic for their family until their young daughter begins to experience terrifying nightmares induced by a familiar villain, threatening to destroy the life they have made for themselves.


**Author's Note:**** This was the story I've been talking about for a while. This is also the main reason that The Collection hasn't been updated in quite some time. I really hope that skipping some updates on that will be okay after everyone reads this. This whole thing had been a really frustrating process because I didn't have the whole thing planned out. This one was tough for me to write fully, I kept getting distracted. But there is a lot of Stydia in here and that has really helped me through these past few episodes when it has been lacking. I really hope you guys like it.**

**As far as I know there will not be another part to this, because this was already too hard to write after I got passed all of the cute stuff and I needed plot. This is a Stydia story with A LOT of FLUFF. I know there are some things in here that aren't right continuity wise because this has been such a long process, so please forgive any of that. Also I feel like the ending paragraphs were a bit weak so forgive me for that too. All in all this was fun to write for a change and I will be updating The Collection again soon (hopefully), thank you for being patient. I really hope everyone enjoys this story! **

**Disclaimer:**** I do not own MTV's Teen Wolf.**

**This Is Us**

There she was, looking particularly beautiful. It didn't matter that it was the millionth time that Stiles Stilinski had seen her, he always felt like he was looking at her for the first time. It was almost like he was falling in love with her all over again. He especially felt like this when he was seeing her for the first time after they had been apart for any length of time. At most it had been five or six minutes since he had seen her, but there she was looking gorgeous, causing butterflies to plague his stomach, making him feel sixteen again. It wasn't a bad thing, it was actually a really good thing, and it meant that he really had found his true love.

Lydia, his wife, was standing in the refrigerated section at Beacon Hills' most trafficked grocery store, comparing different brands of Greek yogurt, trying to decide which one to buy. She had no idea that Stiles was watching her so intently as he walked down the aisle carrying the box of cereal they had forgotten to pick up when they were in that section of the store. She looked so perfect doing such a mundane task.

Next to his wife was the shopping cart full of groceries that was also holding their three and half year old daughter, Caroline Claudia Stilinski, in the child seat. Her hair was the same color as her mother's, but her eye color was all Stiles. Her attitude was already very much like her mother's, sassy but she also had a very suite and caring side that Stiles claimed she gained from him, which was probably true. And situated in Lydia's other arm, nestled against Lydia's chest, and wrapped in a pink blanket was their second daughter, four month old, Charlotte Felicity Stilinski. Her middle name had been his mother's and he loved that both of his daughters had a part of his mother in their lives. Charlotte also already had a bit of Lydia's strawberry blonde hair on her head, and her eyes matched her mother's impeccable green ones. She was quieter and more content than Caroline had been as a baby. Her laid back personality that was so Stiles was already showing.

"Hey." He said as he finally made his way to his family and he set the cereal inside the shopping cart. He ruffled Caroline's hair a bit, causing her to giggle, before sliding an arm around Lydia's waist.

"Oh hey, which brand of yogurt did we buy last time? It was good, but I can't remember which one it was." She said looking up at him, and showing him the yogurt cup in her hand. He didn't say anything; he just stood there looking at her with a smile on his face. "Stiles? Hello? Is anyone in there?" She said after a few seconds of no response.

"Oh…um, yeah I think it was this one." He said snapping out of his happy little trance he had been in. He grabbed a few more cups of yogurt and put them in the cart.

"Are you alright?" Lydia asked, amused at his quirkiness. Sometimes he acted like he had no idea what was going on when he was around her, just staring at her. It wasn't creepy; it was actually always a look of adoration, so she couldn't be too mad. But she had to ask to be sure he wasn't being possessed, because that was a possibility.

"Yeah I'm fine, perfect actually." He said kissing her briefly on the lips. "How are you? Are you good?" He asked after he pulled away.

"Yes baby, I'm fine." She said smiling up at him; he really was adorable, especially when he was giddy for no apparent reason.

"Alright, well good." He said as he kissed the top of Charlotte's head and began to push the cart down the aisle while making funny faces at his oldest daughter.

After picking up the last few things on their list they paid for their groceries and headed out to their modestly sized SUV. It was about the middle of winter in Beacon Hills, so the pair managed to bundle their children up appropriately and to get them into the car, safe and warm.

Soon the family of four was back at their moderately sized home. It was a new build with four bedrooms, a study, and three and half baths. It was a bit large for them currently but they bought it with the intensions of filling it with another child one day. They wanted three kids, so they bought a house that would be big enough for three kids one day in the somewhat near future. The house was in a great location, both of their parent's homes as well as Scott and Allison's were only a few minutes away from it and Ethan and Danny lived in the same neighborhood with their four year old son, Josh, actually. Once the car was parked in the garage, the food was put away, and everything was calming down for the night Stiles and Lydia began to get their kids ready for bed.

Most would think it was a bit odd for any of them to decide to settle down in Beacon Hills but it really wasn't all that bad. Stiles and Lydia had gone away for college. Eventually Lydia earned her degree and Field's Medal for a mathematics theorem she had created and Stiles had pursued a degree in criminal justice. Currently she was a stay at home mom, but she taught a few online classes to help out with the bills and incidentals but really she got to be with her daughters for most of the day and that made her really happy. Stiles worked as an investigator, mostly at the Sheriff's office helping out his dad or privately depending on the situation. He made good money, considering how much crime was in Beacon Hills.

But really the supernatural element of the town had died down significantly. With only a few known supernatural beings in town, it was really enough to not entice others from coming, and the occasional few who did come to Beacon Hills were easy enough for the members of the McCall pack still around to handle. Everything was basically as perfect as it could be.

Stiles was an emissary to the pack, Lydia hadn't screamed in years. Isaac and Cora were living together one town over from Beacon Hills and were around a lot of the time. Ethan and Danny were happy together, no kids yet but they were in the seemingly near future. Scott and Allison had one son, two- almost-three year old, and everything for them was going well for them too. The Sheriff and Melissa had even officially confirmed their relationship to be in the "dating" stage, which was a huge step of progress. Other than that everyone else had dispersed, showing up occasionally to visit, but really that was it. The once supernatural town wasn't so much anymore, and no one was complaining.

"Caroline, what pajamas do you want to wear to bed tonight? Lydia asked her daughter as she looked through the drawer that held the young girl's pajamas. Stiles stood in the doorway rocking the baby back and forth in an attempt to get her to go down on time for once.

"Um the pink fuzzy ones I guess." Caroline replied nervously as she clutched her favorite teddy bear. Lydia helped her daughter change into her pajamas but she seemed uneasy.

"What's wrong baby?" Lydia asked as she was knelt in front of Caroline, adjusting her pajama top.

"Can I sleep in your bed tonight?" She asked.

"Why? Don't you want to sleep in your own comfy bed?" Lydia asked, remembering the past few nights she had been woken up by her daughter complaining of nightmares. She had been able to coax her back into her own bed every night but it got more difficult and heartbreaking each time.

"No. I want you to keep me safe. Please let me stay with you." She pleased eyes starting to well up.

"Caroline sweetie, you're perfectly safe in your own bed. I promise." Lydia said, not even really believing her own words. She knew what it was like to have mind plaguing nightmares for nights on end and she knew as bad as she had it Stiles had it even worse. But things were going well; there was nothing to worry about.

"Please let me stay with you?" She begged.

"Oh you're fine sweetie. I know you're very safe in this room and if you slept in my room all of your stuffed animal friends and your toys would miss you very much." Lydia encouraged.

"Yeah and you know your bed is the perfect size for you. And Mommy's right, all of your stuffed animals would miss you so much." Stiles said stepping into the room more and standing next to her small form. "I bet you can be super brave and stay in here all night long." He said pulling her closer so that she was hugging his leg tightly and he was reciprocating as much as he could with a baby in his arms. "You think you can show me how brave you are?"

"Okay." Caroline finally managed to squeak out through a few tears that fell down her round face. She finally climbed into her child sized bed and Lydia covered her up, making sure to tuck her in tightly and she even sang an extra song to her, to help comfort her before sleep overtook her.

"I love you Caroline. Sleep tight." Stiles said, blowing her a kiss and smiling.

"Goodnight Daddy." She yawned.

"I love you very much baby, have a good sleep." Lydia said kissing her on the forehead before standing up and turning on a night light before exiting the room with her husband.

"Stiles do you think she's having normal nightmares or do you think they're some type of weird supernatural nightmares?" Lydia asked as she climbed under the overs next to her husband as he watched the nightly news on the television. The baby had finally went down and Lydia was ready to sleep for days.

"Hopefully it's just the normal kind." He answered as he lowered the volume on the TV. "Why what do you think?"

"I don't know." She answered honestly. "It's been happening for a couple of days now. It doesn't seem normal to me."

"Maybe it is though and it's just weird to us because we're so used to everything being supernatural somehow." He deducted. "Let's just wait it out and see it's probably nothing."

"Yeah…probably." She replied, as he leaned over and kissed her cheek.

"It will be fine babe, I'm sure."

"Okay." She sighed trying to rid the bad thoughts from her mind.

"Goodnight, I love you so very much." He said, this time kissing her on the lips, causing her worry to melt away and for her to smile into the kiss.

"I love you too." She responded as she scooted next to him so that her back was resting along the front of his body, their hands intertwined together on her stomach.

A few hours later Lydia was awoken to the sound of muted whispers. She had gravitated to her side of the bed in her sleepy state. She groped the space next to her, expecting to feel her husband, but she noticed that the bed was empty. When she finally opened her eyes fully and turned to Stiles' side of the bed she saw him walking back into the room, but instead of being alone, he was carrying Caroline who wore a tear stained face.

"Stiles what's going on?" She mumbled.

"Another bad dream, I heard her crying. I'm just going to let her stay with us for the night." He whispered as he softly placed his daughter next to Lydia and he climbed in after, situating them so they were all under the covers. Her face was covered with stray tears and her breathing was uneven. As much as she wanted her daughter to stay in her bed all night, she loved having her close by and it broke her heart to see how distraught she was.

"Stiles…" she moaned in protest "did you try to get her to lay back down?"

"I tried but she wouldn't go back, I couldn't just leave her in there crying like that." He explained, voice cracking with sleepiness.

"Ugh." She groaned, unsatisfied with his answer. The kids had him completely wrapped around their fingers. Lydia would have probably wouldn't have given in as soon as she knew her husband did.

"Lyd, its fine. Just let her stay. Go back to sleep." He told her wanting desperately to fall back into a slumber.

"You're such a softy." She murmured before bringing her daughter into an embrace. She wiped away the tears that were still hot on her cheeks and rubbed her back soothingly and soon all three fell back to sleep.

Stiles may have fallen asleep in his bed with an extra person in it, but when he woke up he was completely alone. After brushing his teeth he headed downstairs, following the smell of fresh French toast. Every Saturday they always had some cooked breakfast food to start their weekend. He walked into their open eat in kitchen that was connected to the living room. Charlotte was cooing in the baby swing in the living room, Lydia was at the stove, and Caroline was at the table eating a syrup doused piece of French toast.

"Morning." He said walking up to her and kissing her on the temple.

"Good morning." She smiled tiredly up at him.

"Why didn't you wake me?" He asked as he leaned against the counter next to the stove.

"Because you worked all week and you looked too cute for me asleep, I didn't want to bother you." She answered.

"Are you mad I let Caroline sleep in our bed last night?" If she was going to yell at him he would prefer they just get it out of the way.

"No, slightly annoyed. I was able to get her back to her bed every night this week." Lydia smirked, a bit proud of herself.

"Well you know that puppy dog look she gives me, I can't say no. Especially when I'm dead tired and not thinking straight." He explained.

"Sure whatever you say." She smiled.

"Whoa wait though. Did you say she's been having nightmares all week?" He asked after he processed everything she had said, because nightmares a few times a week was what he heard before, but nightmares all week? That was new information.

"Um yeah, a week, week and a half maybe, why do you ask?" She said flipping the bread in the skillet.

"Well I think that nightmares for an entire week are…a bit much, don't you?"

"I don't know you're the one who said it was probably nothing. That we should just wait and see if it gets any worse." She reminded him as Charlotte began to whimper in hunger from across the large open room.

"I'm pretty sure you said that they've only happened a couple of times."

"Well it didn't seem like it was all week, but if I really sit and think about it then…yes it's been going on for about a week and a half or so." She said as the baby started her full on cry.

"Maybe we need to do something about it."

"Do something? Like what?" She asked because she for sure didn't have a clue what she was supposed to do. The baby was crying loudly now causing Lydia to groan audibly. "Stiles, can you please go pick her up and bring her to me, or take over here?" She asked, slightly annoyed, mostly due to sleepiness.

"I'll go get her." He said calmly, kissing Caroline on the head on his way over to the living room. "Hey, baby girl. How are you?" Stiles cooed at the baby as he lifted her from the swing and kissed her cheek. She was calm for a few seconds as he walked back into the kitchen standing next to Lydia. She began to fuss again when she caught a glance at Lydia. "Ohh what's wrong, do you hate Daddy today too?" He asked, kissing her cheek again.

"No she loves you. She's just mad that Daddy can't provide her with food." Lydia sighed taking the baby from his arms and gesturing for him to take over the rest of the cooking. "Isn't that right Charlotte?" Lydia asked, rubbing her nose against the baby's. She calmed down significantly.

"Ahhh so she only loves you more because you're the milk machine then?" He asked as he put the food on two plates, one for him and one for his lovely wife.

"I'll take what I can get." Lydia said as she took her seat at the kitchen table and unbuttoned her pajama top so she could feed the whimpering baby.

"Here you go." He said setting down her plate of French toast (garnished the exact way she liked it), as well as putting one down for himself.

"Thanks." She murmured as she took a bite. They loved each other so much, and they often had small disagreements but it was really because they were so much alike, both very stubborn. After a few moments of comfortable silence Lydia spoke up. "Caroline, sweetie, what have your dreams been about?"

"I don't know Mommy." She answered shyly, eating another bite of food.

"Well if you can tell me, maybe I can help you." Lydia encouraged.

"I don't want to talk about it." She mumbled. For an almost four year old, she spoke in very clear and correct sentences. She was very smart, just like her parents. She was articulate and was constantly talking about something, and she was usually very loud, a trait gained from Stiles most likely. But along with the nightmares, she had been talking considerably less and with a softer tone. All of these factors caused uneasiness for Lydia.

"If you remember, it's important that you tell us so that we can help you have happy dreams again." Stiles explained, knowing all too well about plaguing nightmares.

"Are there monsters in your dreams? Or are there bad guys?"

"Both." She admitted, getting down off of her chair and climbing onto Stiles' lap.

"Well what do they look like?" Lydia asked.

"First…there's a bad man. He looked nice at first. But then he told me he wanted to hurt people who were mean to him."

"Well who did he say he was going to hurt?" Stiles asked, growing more concerned by them minute.

"He said he was going to hurt…" her breathing became labored and her eyes filled with tears as she tried to remember. "g-g-going to hurt you and Mommy, and Uncle Scott and Aunt Ally, and Grandpa…and I don't remember who else because I was too scared." She cried as Lydia and Stiles shared a look of sheer concern.

"Did he say anything else?" Lydia did not like the sounds of this; it sounded less like a normal nightmare and more like a supernaturally induced one.

"No…then…he turned into a monster." She said, tears trickling down her cheeks now.

"What kind of monster, what did the monster look like?" Lydia asked, fearing what it could be.

"It looked like a big…a big scary dog." She sniffled, burying her head into Stiles' chest.

"Like a wolf?" Her mother asked. Caroline nodded her head 'yes' in response.

"Mhm." She nodded and gripped her father's shirt tightly as her parents looked at each other unsure of what it all actually meant.

After a surprisingly intense breakfast, Stiles and Lydia tried to keep everything light and cheery for Caroline, and communicated through eye contact that they would discuss it more in detail later. They played with her in the living room until it was time for both of the girls to go down for a nap. Stiles agreed to put both of them, allowing Lydia to grab a hot shower and to try to process what exactly was happening in her oldest daughter's nightmares.

She let the water run all over as she kept replaying everything her daughter had mentioned. The more she did, the more she thought of her own nightmares when she was younger and how terrified she had been even at the age of sixteen. And she could only assume that they were even more terrifying for someone who wasn't even four yet. She had to wonder if her daughter's dreams were caused by the same reasons her own were.

"Hey." Her husband's familiar voice said from behind her. She turned to face him and all of his perfection. He was so good to her, and words couldn't describe how much he meant to her and how great of a father he had been.

"Hi." She smiled widely, worry fading away. "Did you get them to sleep already?" She asked as her arms crept up around his neck and she pulled him in towards the source of water.

"Mhm, they're both sound asleep." It had taken a bit of work to get Caroline back into bed but he convinced her that her stuffed animals would keep the bad dreams away.

"Should we talk about the nightmares?" She asked softly.

"No." He leaned down to kiss her neck slowly, "Not right now at least. I haven't gotten any alone time with you in a day and a half." He mumbled as he trailed wet kisses all along her neck, jawline, and the sensitive spot right behind her ear.

"Okay but you have to promise that we'll talk about it afterwards." She said as she craned her neck, letting him have more access.

"I promise." He said pushing her against the shower tile and kissing her lips with passion and vigor making her moan. They made the most of their kid-free time by making love to each other there in the shower. Name uttering, hot, sweet, bone chilling, body trembling love. There was always passion and excitement even after all their years together, except now it was just more intense and even better. It was like their lips were perfectly matched and their bodies specifically molded for the other.

After showering and putting on their casual Sunday clothes, they heard it. A shrill scream erupted from down the hall, one filled with pure terror and pain. Lydia immediately dropped the towel she was using to dry her hair, and bolted out of their master bath and headed straight for Caroline's room, Stiles right behind her.

"Caroline, are you alright? What happened? Baby, are you okay?" Lydia said picking her crying daughter up from the bed and holding her to her chest tightly.

"What happened? Is she okay?" Stiles asked as he entered the room and placed a hand on Caroline's back.

"I think it's time to call Scott." Lydia said, looking into Stiles' brown eyes.

"Definitely." He breathed, a deep look of concern etched on his face. This was something he was totally unprepared for, whatever was going on. He had to help his daughter feel safe again, in dreams or in reality.

An hour later they were at Scott and Allison's home, hoping to get to the bottom of what was happening to Caroline. Just because they were adults with careers and families of their own now, didn't mean they weren't a pack anymore. And now their kids were a part of the pack too, even though they didn't know that their parents were connected with the supernatural world. Is something was wrong in any of the families; everyone would do their best to help.

"So what's happening? What's going on?" Scott asked as Allison walked back into the living room from the family room where Caroline and Scott and Allison's young son, Max were playing with toys.

"Caroline's been having nightmares for the past week and half, consecutively. I wasn't all that worried until she started telling us what happens in them. And then today during her nap, in the middle of the day, she woke up screaming bloody murder." Lydia explained.

"And we probably wouldn't even think it was anything serious, but you know that Lydia and I have had issues with dreams." Stiles added as bounced his youngest daughter in his arms.

"Do you have any idea what it could mean?" Allison asked.

"Maybe it's like a warning? Maybe she inherited the whole…Banshee thing? I always seemed to dream of stuff that was coming before I learned to control my…skills." Lydia said.

"Yeah but you can't tell the future." Scott said.

"I know, but I can sense things. I mean if I do now, I have to be willing to let them in, but she's not even four, she wouldn't be able to control any of it." Lydia explained in a hushed voice, just in case they could hear her talking in the next room. "There has to be a catalyst."

"Well did she tell you what happened in the dream? Maybe that has some clue in it as to what's going on." Allison said, trying to process the possibility of something evil plaguing Beacon Hills again.

"She said there was a bad man, and that he was going to hurt all of her friends and family. And then she said that the man turned into a monster…it looked like a wolf."

"Are you sure it was a wolf?"

"I asked her if it was a wolf and she said yes. We know that you can only take that form if you've truly lost control, if the werewolf is feral, and most likely evil." Lydia had already been through the possibility of an evil werewolf in her head, now it was just a matter of filling everyone else in on what she thought it could be.

"Did she know who it was? Did it have a name?" Scott asked.

"We didn't ask her." Stiles said.

"Caroline, baby can you come here for a minute?" Lydia called out for her daughter.

"What Mommy?" She asked walking towards her mother, Max following her, pushing a toy train around on the carpet.

"When you have your dreams, are they always the same one with the same man?" Lydia asked pulling her daughter close and rubbing her back gently, Caroline nodded. "Do you know if the bad man has a name?" She felt so bad for asking her daughter to relive the horrific experiences but there was no other way to figure out what the dreams meant if they didn't know what they were about.

"Mhm." She said softly as she looked down at her feet.

"Well what's his name, sweetie? If you tell us, maybe we can do something to get him out of your dreams." Lydia encouraged, gently running her fingers through her daughter's locks. Caroline looked hesitant but she could tell that she believed that her family would do anything to keep her safe, and if she had to say his name then it would all be okay. "Come on Caroline, I can try to make everything better if you just tell me."

"He said his name was…Peter." Caroline choked out before burying her head in her mother's chest. Lydia's stomach immediately dropped and her heartbeat became erratic. She didn't even need to ask if it was Peter Hale, because she knew it was. There was no one else who had a direct line of communication to her like Peter did. It made sense, Peter had probably tried to threaten Lydia directly but she had been able to repress her banshee abilities after years of practice. He had probably moved on to Caroline because she was Lydia's daughter and possibly possessed some supernatural ability as well. It made sense as to why it was happening to Caroline but now Lydia was concerned about the motivation behind the sudden communication. Why did he suddenly want revenge after all of these years? Why not sooner?

"Peter? As in Peter Hale?" Allison asked in a whisper, eyes wandering to the other adults in the room.

"Well what other Peter do you know that has a history of invading dreams?" Lydia said in a hushed tone as she held her daughter close and pulled her onto her lap.

"True."

"When's the last time anyone's seen him?" Stiles asked sitting up, careful not to disturb Charlotte who was resting against his shoulder.

"I haven't seen him since the week we left all left for college. I never even saw him when we came home to visit." Allison concluded.

"Me either." Lydia said.

"Scott, what about Derek, have you talked to him lately? Has he ever said anything about his Uncle? Or Cora has she ever said anything?" Stiles questioned.

"No, I mean it's never really come up. There was never any reason to ask either of them."

"Well do you think that they know anything? Like where he's at or what he's doing?" Lydia asked.

"If anyone knew anything it would be them."

"Do you think you we can call and ask them?"

"Of course, I'll call them tomorrow morning. Hopefully they know something." Scott told Lydia, hoping to calm her down for the time being. There was no need to get worked up until things were serious and definite.

"Alright. Thank you." She said nodding her head. She wasn't trying to be dramatic or to blow things out of proportion. But she remembered how mentally scaring Peter Hale's dream invasions could be, and she had been a teenage girl not a three and a half year old.

A few days had passed since they had gone to Scott and Allison's to discuss the dreams. Scott had called Derek like Lydia had asked him to. Derek didn't know the whereabouts of his uncle but he knew he couldn't be up to anything good, so he had decided to come back to Beacon Hills for a visit to make sure things were still in check. He had also convinced his sister Cora and her significant other, Isaac Lahey to return as well.

Stiles climbed the stairs of his home after a late night at the Sheriff's Department. With the help of his father he had been trying to dig up anything he could on Peter Hale and where he had been for the past few years. He could only snoop through the evidence without distractions when it was nighttime and most of the daily distractions were gone. He was also a bit worried about having extra wolves in town again, things tended to go awry when that happened.

All his worry seemed to melt away though when he walked through the quiet house and into his and his wife's master bedroom. The scene that played out in front of him was too perfect. A child's movie played in the background as Lydia was sitting in the middle of their large bed, the baby on her back as Lydia and Caroline made faces, tickled, and talked sweetly attempting to make the baby giggle and smile. The laughter from the three auburn-haired beauties made his heart swell.

"Daddy!" Caroline squealed, catching her eye before he caught Lydia's. She carefully crawled around her mother and sister and practically jumped from the bed and into his strong arms. "You're home."

"Mhm, and you're up past your bedtime." He said giving her a kiss on the cheek and squeezing her tight.

"She wanted to see you before she went to sleep." Lydia said as Stiles kicked off his shoes and sat down on the bed, Caroline snuggled on his lap. Lydia leaned over to give him his 'welcome home' kiss.

"Well I can't be too upset can I? Is that true Caroline did you want to see Daddy before bed?" He asked his oldest daughter.

"Mhm, it's true. I missed you." She said nuzzling into his chest as he kissed the top of her head. She was already bathed and in her pajamas. It killed him when he had to work late and miss time with his family but he was trying to help them by working late, it was such a catch-22.

"Well I missed you too." He whispered.

"Charlotte missed you too Daddy." She told him. "Right Mommy?"

"Mhm. I think she did." Lydia said as she carefully placed the baby against Stiles' shoulder so that both of his arms were now full. He sighed and closed his eyes for a moment, finally able to relax after a long day at work. When he opened his eyes Lydia was snapping a photo on her iPhone.

"Hey." He protested weakly.

"I couldn't help it, you guys look so cute." She said smiling genuinely. Lydia was always taking pictures of their family, so was he, maybe it was because they couldn't believe how lucky they had gotten and how happy they were. "And don't even try to argue with me because you've taken so many unflattering pictures of me it's not even funny."

"Lydia it is literally impossible for you to take an unflattering picture." He countered and she just rolled her eyes as she sat back down next to him after taking back Charlotte into her own arms. She snuggled next to him as he wrapped his now free arm around her shoulders.

"Are you hungry, there's some leftover pasta in the fridge if you want some." She told him as Caroline became absorbed into the ending of the movie on the TV and Charlotte began to get her normal hunger/sleepy whines.

"It's alright; I already ate at the station."

"Okay. So did you find anything today?" She asked softly as she began Charlotte's bedtime feeding.

"No. Nothing." He said disappointedly as he looked at her.

"Alright, well we'll just have to keep looking. And everyone will be back in town tomorrow; maybe we'll be able to figure something out then." She said trying her best to be as hopeful and optimistic as she could manage.

"You know you're allowed to be disappointed right?" He told her.

"I know, but I don't want to be. I know you'll figure it out, even if you need my help to do it." She said smiling, remembering all of the times they spent locked up in each other's bedrooms doing research on supernatural creatures.

"Well I hope we figure it out soon, I miss spending nights with just you in the bedroom." He said smiling slyly before kissing her quickly on the lips as she was in mid eye roll. Despite wanting alone time with Lydia he was happy that having Caroline in the room meant no abrupt interruptions of much needed sleep, well except for when Charlotte was crying in the middle of the night. Their oldest had been sleeping on an air mattress next to Lydia's side of the bed for the past new nights and she had been fine, curled up in her many blankets and surrounded by some of her favorite stuffed animals.

"Get your head out of the gutter Stilinski." She teased, knowing she missed her alone time with him as well.

"Ready for bed?" Stiles asked Caroline a few minutes later as the movie credits rolled and she yawned loudly.

"No not yet, I'm not even tired." She said, yawning again.

"Oh really, because you look pretty tired to me." He said as he got off of the bed and walked around it and placed Caroline on the air mattress.

"Five more minutes!" She pleaded, giving him her perfected puppy dog pout.

"Alright, I'm going to go put my pajamas on but after that then it will be time for bed. Okay?" He asked ruffling the hair on her head, making her giggle. Lydia rolled her eyes at this just as Stiles looked at her. "What?" He asked.

"She has you wrapped around her finger. You know that right?"

"Well what do you expect, she learned from the best." He said with a smirk, obviously insinuating that he was also wrapped around Lydia's finger. Her only response was a sideways glare and an eye roll as he went into the bathroom after grabbing a set of pajamas from the dresser. She really had no grounds for argumentation.

"How's your dad?" Lydia asked, burping the baby over her shoulder, after he came out of the bathroom and went to the closet to put his clothes in the laundry bin. Lydia cared a lot for the Sheriff, as did he for her. All that stuff about in-laws hating each other was totally untrue for their relationship. It was more like father and daughter rather than in-laws.

"He's doing well, Melissa is getting settled in over there." He responded as he kneeled down next to the air mattress. Melissa and John had recently moved in together since things had been going so well between the two of them.

"Awww, well that's good." She said smiling. "I'm so glad he's happy."

"Mhm. He misses the girls though."

"He saw them less than a week ago." Lydia giggled, re-positioning the baby into a rocking position to ease her into slumber.

"You know that's like six months to him. Plus he said he missed you too."

"Awww. I guess we'll have to make time to go see him then."

"Well good, he wants us to come over for dinner tomorrow, if that's alright with you."

"We're going to Grandpa's house tomorrow?" Caroline spoke up, her face lit up by a huge smile.

"If Mommy says it's okay."

"I suppose we can go." Lydia responded.

"Yay, thank you!" She squealed with joy, she absolutely loved her grandpa, or Papa as she called him, and he loved her just as much, he spoiled her and her sister even more than Stiles did, if that was even possible.

"Okay but you now it's time to go to bed." He insisted handing her the favored teddy bear before covering her up with a few blankets so she was nice and warm. "I love you, sleep tight okay?" He kissed her forehead lightly.

"Okay Daddy." She said as Lydia shimmied off the bed and turned the television off. She handed the baby to Stiles before crouching down to give her daughter a kiss on the cheek and to tell her goodnight.

"Have sweet dreams okay? No nightmares allowed. I love you."

"Only good dreams allowed."

"That's right…goodnight sweetie." She said standing up and following Stiles to the doorway and turning off the light, leaving only a small nightlight to illuminate the room. They went down the hall to the closest room, Charlotte's nursery. The walls were alternated between pale pink and a light grey. It was perfect and quaint, with a crib against one wall, a changing table against another, and glider in the corner. Her name was spelled out in wooden letters over the crib and there were plenty of family pictures on the opposite wall. Lydia had designed it so perfectly and she was so proud of her work too.

"Does she need changed?" He asked Lydia.

"No I did it right before you got home, she should be good for now. Lucky you." She said. She couldn't help but think how mundane and simple her life had become after high school, well aside from Caroline's screaming nightmares. But she never would have guessed she would have been so content with discussing things like diaper changes with Stiles Stilinski of all people. But that's who she was now and who she had been for a while. He had made her a better version of herself over the years and she was so grateful for that. Grateful for the family they had both biological and non-biological relatives.

"Well that is one of the things I got lucky with. Do you want to rock her to sleep or should I?" He asked as he walked over to the glider.

"I think you should, you didn't get to see her at all today." She said, watching him take a seat in the chair, a dopy grin across his face as he looked down at her. "She does need her pacifier though." She said grabbing a hot pink one from the closet.

"Come here." He told her and she did so. He took his free hand and wrapped it around her waist, and brought her down slowly to sit on his lap. She placed the pacifier into her daughter's mouth causing sleep to come a bit quicker. "Mmmm she's so cute." He observed as the binky moved up and down in her mouth and as she fought to keep her eyes open.

"I know, she's so perfect, it's unreal."

"They're both perfect, like they're well-behaved and so loving." He sighed, thinking about both of his children now.

"Hmmm, mostly." She added, knowing there were days when they weren't such perfect angels.

"Maybe, but they're pretty close…we should have another one." He mused aloud. "It could be a boy or a girl I don't care. It'd be cute either way." He said kissing Charlotte's forehead.

"Babe, this one isn't even close to being six months old yet. Let's slow it down there." She said.

"Okay, but one day we're going to have another one right?" He asked, looking at Lydia hopefully now. "You know my dad would love to be a grandpa again."

"One day okay, but let's just be patient for now and enjoy the children we already have. Alright?" She said amused, he got so excited about everything.

"Right, someday. Just let's make sure it's not too far from now."

"Alright…someday, soon-ish then." She said, pressing her head gently against his, breathing in his intoxicating scent, finally letting herself relax for a few moments.

"I think she's asleep." He whispered after a few minutes had passed. Her eyes were closed shut and her breathing had slowed. Lydia nodded her head and climbed off of him , walking to the crib, lowering the bar and spreading out a blanket. Stiles placed the baby on it and Lydia carefully swaddled her tightly before kissing her softly.

"I'll drive over to your dad's tomorrow night, you can meet us there. Be on time okay?" She told him sternly after closing the door to the nursery.

"Lydia, why would I be late?"

"I'm just saying you need to be there on time, don't get mixed up in any werewolf business until after tomorrow okay? I'm not ready for it yet, I need another day of preparation."

"I'll try my best. But you know how it can get at the station sometimes."

"I know, but if it's because you got into a fight with Derek or Isaac, that won't be an acceptable excuse." She said walking towards him, causing his back to hit a wall.

"No werewolf business until Thursday. Got it." He responded as she stood on her toes and wrapped her hands securely around the back of his neck.

"Good." She smirked, leaning in to kiss him deeply as his hands moved to her hips and moving her shirt up slightly. They kissed for a few moments, touching their foreheads together when they were finished. "I love you."

"I love _you_." He smiled every time he got to tell her that because he remembered a time when he had to keep it all bottled up inside. He couldn't say it enough.

"Bed?" She asked and he nodded his head. The moved quietly into the room, and snuggled down deeply into the covers. Caroline was fast asleep, butt in the air, a classic Stiles trait she inherited. It was adorable. Stiles wrapped his arm around her waist and scooted close to her so that her back was parallel to his front. Both fell asleep almost instantly.

"Are we here, Mommy?" Caroline asked kicking her legs as she recognized the familiar houses on the street, the same street Stiles had lived on as a child.

"Yes, we're here." Lydia replied as she pulled into the driveway, right behind the Sheriff's patrol car. She shut of the car and retrieved Caroline from the seat behind the passenger's side and set her down on the ground. They walked to the other side of the car, Caroline waiting patiently for Lydia to get the car seat out of the car.

"Papa!" Caroline squealed when she saw the Sheriff come out of the house to greet them.

"Hey kiddo, how are you?" He asked scooping her up and hugging her tight.

"I'm good Papa; all my bad dreams are gone now." She told him.

"Oh well that's great news. Very good to hear, glad everything's better." He told her, he was glad that the dreams were gone for the time being. There was nothing worse than having to watch someone you loved battle their own mind for peace. Stiles had told him all about the dreams Caroline had been having and that the infamous Peter Hale was the star of all of them. "Hey Lydia, how are you?" He said giving her a side hug.

"Hey John, I'm doing alright. How about you?" She asked.

"I'm great, glad you could make it." He smiled putting Caroline down. "Here I got it." He said as he took the heavy car seat out of the car.

"Thank you." She said, smiling appreciatively. She grabbed the diaper bag from the backseat and closed the door.

"Not a problem."

"So I'm guessing my husband hasn't made it yet has he?" She asked as they walked into the Stilinski house, all of them removing their coats and shoes.

"No, not yet he was working on some stuff when I left the station, he said he'd be here as soon as he was done though." He told her setting the car seat down on the floor.

"Oh he better be. Did he meet up with Scott, Isaac, Ethan, Derek and/or Cora at all today?"

"Yeah I think he did on his lunch break? Why?" He asked.

"Well I asked him not to and I told him to be on time, so I was just wondering if he remembered to do either of those things." She sighed softly; she wasn't actually mad at him; just slightly annoyed because she knew he was doing it to be helpful.

"Yeah, well he was always the kid who touched the stove after you told him not to touch the stove." John said unbuckling Charlotte from the carrier and settling her in his arms.

"Sounds like Stiles." She smiled, imagining his mother telling him not do something in order to keep him from getting hurt, only to have his curiosity take over. "I guess I shouldn't be too upset, as long as he's here soon and unharmed."

"Don't worry, I'll yell at him for you when he gets here." He said smiling down at the baby in his arms. She looked remarkably like Stiles had as a baby, just in girl form, her chubby cheeks, long eyelashes, her quiet and laidback demeanor, although her nose and the hair color of what little she had was all Lydia's doing.

"Alright, that sounds good. Where is Melissa by the way?" Lydia asked as she watched Caroline playing with the play kitchen that was among the many toys that littered the corner of the Sheriff's living room. The pile was a combination of Stiles and Scott's old toys and new, more girly ones that had been specifically bought for Caroline when she had been born.

"Oh she's in the kitchen, getting dinner ready. It should be ready soon."

"Papa! Look at this." Caroline exclaimed running over to him and showing him something she had found in the trove of toys. He responded with an impressed observation, much to her delight.

A few minutes later Stiles finally arrived at his father's house. "Hey!" He said walking in and closing the door behind him. Caroline immediately ran to him and he engulfed her into a hug. Lydia stood to greet him, kissing him on the lips, something she always did because she never knew how the day would end for someone working in law enforcement in Beacon Hills. "I missed you." He said smirking as he pulled away.

"Nice try, but you're late and I know you went to lunch with…your special friends today." She said, careful to avoid the word werewolf around the kids, they were still unaware of the supernatural elements of the town.

"Dad! You told her?" He said setting his daughter back on the ground.

"Hey she asked, and I like her better than you." He said smirking at his son.

"Hey guys, dinner's ready." Melissa said as she appeared in the living room doorway and everyone began to migrate towards the kitchen. The Sheriff handed off the baby to Stiles who snuggled her close and kissed her chubby cheeks causing her to giggle.

"Lydia." Stiles whispered as he grabbed her wrist with his free hand before they could enter the kitchen and have everyone hear what they were going to say.

"What?" She asked as she turned to face him, brows furrowed in concern and annoyance.

"I talked to Derek and Cora today and they said they think that Peter is back in Beacon Hills." He told her in a hushed voice.

"Well obviously." She retorted, annoyed that he somehow thought that this was breaking news that needed to be shared right away.

"Yeah, okay but I told them about the dreams and Derek said he thinks you should…un-suppress your abilities. Once Peter sets out to do something he doesn't give up, and if you let him in, we can see what he wants."

"Stiles can…can we just please talk about this later?" She was obviously not thrilled at the suggestion, mostly because she had been debating it before anyways and someone else bringing it up made it more real and more likely to happen.

"Uh, yeah that's fine…I just thought you should know." He wasn't offended at her response; he hadn't expected it to be pleasant. He just wanted her to be aware and ultimately he knew the decision would be up to her.

"Just later okay?" She said, breathing deeply trying to avoid getting worked up or even more annoyed at the idea.

"Yeah later is fine." He nodded, pulling her close into a hug with his empty arm, she pressed herself against him, wrapping her arms around his torso and breathing in his scent. "Later, later is good. Don't worry; everything is going to be fine." He told her, kissing the top of her head. She pulled away after a few seconds and she grabbed his hand and dragged him forwards into the kitchen.

Everyone had already begun to consume their dinner, Caroline's face already covered in cheese from the macaroni and cheese Melissa had made. It all went very well despite the suggestion that had been made to Lydia. Melissa and John sat next to each other, Caroline on the end, and Lydia and Stiles on the other side of the table with Charlotte resting contently on her father's lap as everyone finished their dinner. Looking around no matter how conflicted Lydia was about everything, she was so grateful for Stiles and his family. How much John and Melissa cared about her as well as Stiles, and how much they loved her two daughters. She was so more than proud to call herself a Stilinski.

After dinner things were calm and serene, just the way Lydia liked them to be. She fed the baby in the living room recliner while Stiles and his dad played down on the floor, the nightly news on in the background for Melissa and Lydia to watch. Once Charlotte was fed and changed Stiles took her and laid her on carpet for some floor time, doing anything to make her laugh.

"Good night Nana and Papa!" Caroline was saying a little bit later, as it was getting late for a weekday and it was time to leave.

"Goodbye sweetie." Melissa said giving her a quick hug.

"Be good for Mommy and Daddy alright? And no bad dreams." John told his granddaughter before handing her over to Lydia.

"Okay Papa." She said smiling and lying against her mother's shoulder.

"Thanks again for dinner." Lydia smiled.

"Not a problem, anytime. It's always good to see you guys." John replied.

"See you tomorrow Dad." Stiles said before the family of four piled out of the door. Lydia buckled Caroline into the booster seat while Stiles fumbled with the baby seat, eventually getting the sleeping baby situated. By the time Lydia walked around to the driver's side of the vehicle Stiles already had opened the door for her.

"You know you don't have to try to impress me anymore right?" She asked as she walked around him and slid into the driver's seat.

"I'm not doing it to impress you; I'm doing it because I love you." He told her as he leaned his head closer to his, using one hand on the hood of the car for support.

"Mmm you're so lame." She groaned as she rolled her eyes and smiling happily as his lips pressed to hers.

"Maybe. But you're the one who married me." He said after pulling away, a shit-eating smile spread across his face. "Remember to drive safe, you have precious cargo back there." He said before closing the door. He meant what he said too, he couldn't imagine if they were to get into an accident. He couldn't even bear the thought of losing his wife and daughters. But it didn't matter because they were completely safe the whole time, especially with him driving in his car right behind them the whole time.

Once the girls were bathed and tucked into their beds Lydia and Stiles wandered downstairs to their living room to catch up on a few shows on their DVR. He sat on the large recliner in the room, pulling her down to sit on his lap, her legs hanging over one of the armrests, one arm around his neck and the other resting on his chest. She attempted to pay attention to whatever was playing but she was utterly distracted by her own thoughts.

"Do you want to talk now?" Stiles asked as he turned off the television.

"I don't know, I guess so." She answered repositioning herself so she was in a more upright position for conversation.

"So what do you think about the whole thing?" He asked threading his fingers with hers. Physical contact with one another was one thing they both did to help reassure and comfort each other. It was just always really calming for both of them, they had learned that when they had started dating. How much easier things got when they were together and touching.

"It's terrifying and I would really rather not do it but…" she began.

"But…what?" He prodded.

"But if it means he leaves Caroline alone then it's worth it. But I have no idea what he wants and I don't want this to ruin everything."

"What do you mean?" He asked, rubbing soft circles into her back.

"Everything's been sort of…perfect lately. I'm so happy and in love with you" she said running a hand through his brown locks "and our girls, it's all so perfect. I'm not ready to open this supernatural can of worms again." Tears threatened to spill over her eyelids and she tried her best to blink them away.

"I know, I know. I feel the exact same way. But maybe it's sort of inevitable though, I mean you are a…_banshee_, and Scott and everyone else are werewolves and all of that. Maybe we just caught a break and got lucky these past few years." He said, moving a piece of hair behind her ear.

"Don't even say things like that." She said, not even wanting to imagine her life fighting of evil spirits and supernatural villains all while trying to raise and protect her two children.

"But maybe it's just Peter trying to manipulate you again. But it won't matter if that is the case because you aren't sixteen anymore, you can control it."

"Maybe, it's been years since I've screamed and had dreams. I just turned it off and I never turned it back on again. What if I let him in and I can't stop it after that?" A few tears spilled over onto her rosy cheeks.

"Lydia I know you, I know you'll be able to control it, because well you are kind of a control freak."

"Stiles." She said, shooting him an incredulous look.

"No seriously though, it doesn't matter. Let your guard down for now because I know you'll be able to put it back up. I know you have control of your abilities. I knew you before and after you got your abilities and you've grown so much with them. They saved so many people, even me," he moved his her hand to his lips, kissing her knuckles softly remembering how she used her abilities to save him from the Nogistune all that time ago, "you can do it, I know you can." He encouraged.

"You better not be making any of that up." She sighed, leaning into him again, keeping their fingers interlocked.

"I'm not, you're amazing and you can do anything. You're perfect." He rested his head against hers.

"I don't deserve you." She smiled weakly and kissed his neck softly. He never knew what to say to comments like that because he was the one who felt like he didn't deserve her. "I love you." She whispered.

"I love you too." He murmured.

"So should I try it tonight?" She asked quietly, still unsure about the idea.

"I think tonight is as good as any, the sooner we figure all of this out the sooner we can be done." He told her honestly.

"Okay." She said, signaling that she would let her guard down and try to figure out what the hell Peter Hale wanted from her.

Lydia was soon in a dreaming state. The kind where you aren't really dreaming about anything specific but you know you're dreaming about something. But suddenly she knew exactly what was happening. The dream was so reminiscent of dreams past from her teenage crazy phase.

But then he was there just like he had been before. It was scary, almost like he had been waiting for her and her alone. It was like she felt it. He was just as menacing as ever, now wonder her daughter had been waking up in tears. She had to have felt vulnerable and weak, something Peter Hale fed on. There he was walking towards her, talking at her. His menacing voice sent shivers down her spine. Even though it was a dream, it was so vivid and concrete.

She suddenly sprang straight up in bed, no shrill banshee scream was uttered but the movement was enough to jostle Stiles out of his sleep.

"Lydia, you're alright, Lydia, Lydia." He whispered in her ear trying to get her attention after sitting up next to her in bed. "What happened?" He asked, drowsiness laced in his words as he moved her hair away from her face and rested his forehead gently against her temple. "What happened, what did he say?"

"He-he wants to be the alpha again." She closed her eyes in disgust "He wants Scott and anyone who gets in his way…dead." Her tear filled eyes opened at her utterance of the last word, trailing over to her sleeping daughter.

"Shhhh its okay, we'll be alright, you're fine." Stiles continued to whisper into her ear and kissed her cheek over and over as he had her recline back with him. Eventually his whispers stopped as he fell asleep but she was unable to lose her consciousness and remained awake for the rest of the night.

The next day the McCall pack had a bit of a reunion at Stiles and Lydia's home to discuss the Peter Hale problem. Charlotte was asleep in her crib but the other three children were playing with toys in Caroline's bright pink room.

"Okay but how have you not seen or spoken to your uncle in five years?" Lydia questioned, eyes bounced from Cora and Derek.

"Well he's not exactly the type of person you call to wish a happy birthday." Cora responded a bit annoyed. She had a point, who would purposely keep in touch with Peter Hale?

"You're right I'm sorry, it just would have been a little easier to figure all of this out if you had." She sighed from her spot on the couch next to Stiles, grabbing his hand for support.

"It's fine, he just gets under my skin, I try to avoid any topic of conversation with him at all costs."

"So, Lydia do you think you know what he wants or what he was asking for? What happened in your dream exactly?" Allison asked trying to diffuse some tension.

"I was there. He was there, and he was saying that he wants to be in charge again, he wants to be the Alpha again."

"Well that's nothing new." Derek chimed in.

"And…" Lydia continued.

"And what?" Scott asked.

"And that he wanted to kill you and anyone of us that stood in his way." She explained, and that comment was followed by a few moments of silence while everyone tried to process the new information.

"So what's the plan?" Ethan asked the first to speak up after the silence.

"Well why does he suddenly want it so bad?" Isaac asked.

"It's Peter he's always wanted it so bad." Stiles said reminding everyone of Peter's true nature and thirst for power.

"Very true." Derek said.

"Yeah but why is he so keen on it now? Why not three or four years ago?" Allison asked.

"He said Scott's not living to his potential as the Alpha of this pack AKA the former Hale pack." Lydia said using air quotes.

"Well that's a lovely way to spin things." Cora observed.

"So what are we going to do about all of this?" Isaac questioned.

"I think it's time we end it. Once and for all." Derek said with confidence.

"Derek we can't kill him." Scott spoke up.

"Maybe you can't but I can. He's my Uncle and if I say it's okay to kill him, it's okay to kill him."

"I agree he's nothing but a nuisance." Cora added.

"Guys we can't just end his life because he's annoying." Scott said objecting.

"Scott, he threatened to kill you on multiple occasions, and this time he'll kill anyone who gets in his way. He's nothing but an Omega now, he has nothing to lose." Ethan said, encouraging this idea, eliminating Peter would rid them of a lot of future problems.

"You know Scott I hate to admit it but he does have a valid point." Stiles said a bit solemnly, he knew it wasn't in Scott's nature to want to hurt anyone but Ethan brought up a very good point.

"Guys…"

"There's no other choice Scott." Lydia finally spoke up, fear and a bit of anger fueling her words "If he somehow manages to kill you and none of us, he'll be in control of our lives. And what if he kills all of us, what will happen to our kids? There's no way in hell I'm letting them live parentless if I can help it. Or even worse, what if he kills them or…or takes them and makes them his protégés. He's not bluffing Scott. And I care about you and I love you like a brother but I love my daughters a whole hell of a lot too and I'm not going to let them get hurt in any way, shape, or form."

"Lydia yeah but…"

"Scott he tormented me endlessly, used me as a pawn in whatever game he was playing. I won't let him do it again. He deserves to rot." She was standing her ground on this one. She sank back into the couch she was occupying, leaning into Stiles as he gave her hand a gentle squeeze.

"So everyone agrees with this? Agrees that he deserves to die?" Scott asked, a bit surprised at the general consensus.

"It's not like he's really giving us much of a choice." Cora offered.

"Scott we're not asking you to be the one to do it, but someone has to take care of him." Derek said, trying to reassure the Alpha from where he was standing behind the couch. The conversation went back and forth for a while, and the pack finally managed to convince Scott that it was what had to be done. They had to decide where the event would go down, who would watch the kids, who would be the one to do the deed. In the end they decided to go to Derek's old loft (enough shit had happened there, why dirty a new space with blood when they already had one), and Derek himself would be the one to kill Peter, and that the Sheriff and Melissa would babysit the kids for the night or for however long it took to execute the plan. He was still very against it, but even he knew it was what had to be done for the safety of the pack as well as Beacon Hills.

When they were through discussing details of the plan to exterminate Peter, they all agreed to go out to eat to relieve some stress and to catch up on what everyone was up to. Isaac and Cora were indeed engaged, and Derek said he was seeing someone but didn't reveal who, causing everyone to be even more curious. Ethan divulged that Aiden had recently found a new pack out east, not that anyone cared too much because the pack was still divided on how they felt about that half of the former Alpha twin set. It was good for them all to catch up, even if they didn't spend as much time together anymore they were still all vital to each other at one point or another in their lives. After an hour or two of being at the restaurant they all decided to go their separate ways for the night and enact the plan tomorrow evening.

"Babe, did you drink all of the milk?" Lydia yelled from the kitchen and into the living room where Stiles was on the floor playing with the girls.

"Uh…no." He said wincing, remembering that he did in fact use the last of the milk the previous night on a late night bowl of cereal.

"Stiles." She wined walking into the room with her hands on her hips. "I'm craving fettuccine alfredo so bad and you drank all of the milk."

"Sorry." He said, offering a smile in order to deflect her complaints. He was on the carpet, Charlotte on his lap in one arm while Caroline sat in front of him clutching one of her many stuffed animals, probably forcing Stiles to have a conversation with it. It was impossible to be mad at him though, especially when he was being so adorable with the girls, playing with them and making sure they were having a good time. "You know you're not allowed to be mad at me when I'm holding a stuffed giraffe in one hand and your baby in the other." He argued, smirking at her.

"You're so annoying." She sighed and walked to the mudroom where they kept the car keys. She grabbed her coat, purse, and keys after she pulled on her boots and walked back to the living room.

"Where are you going?" Stiles asked.

"I'm going to the store to buy milk." She chuckled.

"Wait hold on do you really think that's a good idea?" He asked standing up rather quickly and walked over to her, but was careful enough not to jostle the baby too much. "Like I think the milk can wait."

"Stiles after tonight, all of this will be over and guess what, we're still going to need milk." She didn't really feel like having her life dictated by the supernatural anymore.

"Ugh Lydia can't we go get milk tomorrow then?" He pleaded, following after her to the front door.

"I'm like one hundred percent sure that neither of us is going to want to go get milk in the morning. Now do we need anything else at the store?" She asked.

"We could probably use some eggs, I ate the last one this morning." He admitted with a smirk.

"Oh my god." She said rolling her eyes with a laugh escaping her lips and taking Charlotte from his arms to kiss her all over causing the little one to belly laugh.

"Do you want me to come with you?" He asked moving a piece of hair behind her ear.

"No it's fine, there's no reason to drag the kids out of the house. But it would be super helpful if you could pack them a bag for your dad's house though."

"Uh you know I'm not so good with the packing and picking out of outfits that coordinate, right?" He had a long history of being unable to pick out outfits for the girls that didn't clash.

"I already laid their clothes out, and their matching pajamas. Just pack that and anything else they'll need, okay?" Once he saw the clothes laid out he would be able to get the rest of the items packed and ready to go. "It will make things easier when we have to go later."

"Alright yeah I can do that." He said feeling confident in his abilities now.

"I'll be back in a little bit okay?" He nodded. "Be good for Daddy." She said kissing the top of Charlotte's head one last time before handing her back to her husband.

"Bye Mommy!" Caroline said running and hugging her mother's legs tightly.

"I'll be back in a little bit sweetie, make sure you help Daddy pack your bag for Papa's house, okay can you do that for me?" Lydia said bendign down to her daughter's level.

"Because Daddy forgets everything?"

"Mhm," Lydia chuckled "be a good helper and don't let him forget anything."

"Okay I can do that. Bye!" She said before running back to the living room to resume playtime with her toys.

"Bye." She said smiling, and he kissed her one, two, three times on the lips wishing he didn't ever have to let her go.

"I love you." He said as she opened the door and stepped outside.

"I love you too, bye." She called out as she waved on her way to the car.

Lydia was trying to keep her nerves about the upcoming execution under control as she drove home from the grocery store. She had picked up the milk, the eggs, and two bottles of champagne with the intention that they would be celebrating tonight at the end of it all. And if things went particularly well she was totally going to have hot, celebratory sex with her husband tonight too.

She was planning out the evening carefully and precisely in her head, admittedly a bit distracted by the idea of being alone with Stiles for the first time in a week. That's when it happened though. It was all so fast. Suddenly a car was coming down the road straight ahead on her side of the road. She managed to avoid the oncoming car, but only by swerving too far to the right, causing her vehicle to roll into a ditch on the side of the road. She blacked out immediately upon the impact of the airbag.

Her eyes fluttered open to what was Derek's old loft. The room was dark but the window behind her was admitting to soft glow of sunset. She inhaled deeply when she realized she was sitting, no, tied to a wooden chair.

"Lydia Martin, long time, no see. Well in person that is." An all too familiar voice called out from behind her, her eyes widened with an unfortunate reflex response. He then proceeded to walk around the chair so that he was a few feet in front of here going eyes fixated on her phone that was now in his hand.

"Peter." She responded through gritted teeth.

"Oh, my bad. I believe its Lydia…Stilinski now isn't it?" He said flashing a photo from her phone of her and Stiles on their wedding day.

"It is actually." She said, trying to sound as calm as possible.

"Well that's an interesting piece of information I for one was not expecting. I never pegged him for your type, you being his yes but never the other way around."

"I guess you don't know me that well after all."

"Oh and haven't you two been busy? Two daughters." He showed her the picture that she had taken a few nights ago with both of the girls in Stiles' arms. "This is precious, and I really mean that. It's a good thing they got their looks from you though."

"What do you want from me?" She asked, severely becoming more irritated with every word that left his mouth. It was infuriating to hear him talk about Stiles and her daughters like he knew everything about them, when he knew nothing.

"Patience, Lydia!" His voice boomed as he walked closer to her.

"Spare me the drama and leave my family out of this. Other than being the Alpha what else do you want? Why do you need me?" She was not going to let him have this much control over her, not again.

"Once I'm the Alpha again, I want you to be in my pack."

"Why the hell would I be in your pack? If you become the Alpha that means that Scott McCall is dead. That means you make my best friend a single, widowed mother. And I'm also married to Scott's best friend, in case you suddenly forgot, there's no way in hell I'm ever going to decide to be in your pack and there's no way Stiles would let that happen." She spewed, anger now a driving force in her.

"Lydia, Lydia, Lydia did I ever say I was giving you a choice in the matter?"

"It. Is. Never. Going. To. Happen." She seethed. He growled loudly, lunging at her, wolf claws out and centimeters from her neck.

"One more chance Lydia." He yelled his face only a foot from hers his claws now resting on top of the delicate skin of her neck. Her breathing was now labored and tears were falling from her eyes.

"Let go of her!" A voice suddenly said, radiating through the large room. It was Scott and the rest of the pack as well as Chris Argent standing there in the doorway. Peter immediately retracted his grip on Lydia and charged the group. Once he was distracted Allison and Stiles bounded over to where she was at and proceeded to untie her from the restraints.

"Lydia, baby, are you okay?" Stiles asked as he untied her feet from the rope, Allison cut the rope around her hands and Lydia immediately lurched forward into Stiles' arms wrapping her hands around his neck as tightly as she could. Her eyes closed and she breathed him in as she settled her face in the nape of his neck moving her arms to hold his head closer to him.

"I love you, I love you, I love you." She kept repeating to him, whispering into his ear. His arms wrapped around her back and he squeezed her impossibly to his body.

"I know, I know I love you too." Are you okay? Are you hurt?" He asked as he heard scuffling around him.

"Yes, I'm fine." He pulled away to get a good look at her, to look her over. She did look like she had a few gashes and bruises on her but other than that she was in good shape.

"It looks like you have a few cuts from the accident though; we'll have to get some stiches on those." He told her as Allison came around to get a look at the damage.

"You'll be alright, nothing Melissa can't fix up." Allison assured her friend with a small smile.

"The girls, where are they?" Lydia asked. "Are they safe?"

"Lydia they're perfectly fine, probably having a blast at my dad's house. They're perfectly fine and safe."

"The car?"

"Don't worry, we'll get you a new car." Stiles told her as he wiped away any stray tears with his thumb. Soon the noise behind them died down and Peter was very badly hurt, bleeding all over and limbs mangled.

"We're all in agreement then? This is what needs to be done?" Derek asked looking around at the members of the McCall pack, making sure that everyone was aware of executing the plan. Everyone nodded their heads or muttered a 'yes'.

"Wait." Lydia said, standing up and Stiles let go of her. She went to Derek and grabbed the wolves bane bullet loaded gun from Derek's hand while everyone stared in shock.

"Lydia what are you doing?" Scott asked.

"You don't have to do this Lydia, I said I would." Derek told her.

"No. He psychologically tortured me for the end of my teenage years and threatened one too many members of this pack and of my family. I need to end this." She told the room as she caulked the gun and aimed it at Peter.

"Lydia." Stiles began.

"Stiles, I have to do this and you should know that better than anyone."

"Okay." He responded after a few seconds of contemplation he rested his case. He knew from experience and the stories she told him what she had been through and if this was his closure he wouldn't be the one to stop her.

"Peter Hale, you're going to die and you aren't coming back this time." She said before pulling the trigger.

Lydia could still say with all of the confidence in the world that killing Peter Hale was one of the best decisions of her life. One of the best decisions she made other than picking Stiles to spend her life with and other than deciding to start a family with him. She actually would have never been able to live with herself if she had hadn't done it. She felt no remorse for killing the man that was the origin of her decent into insanity and the one who haunted her dreams at night, as well as her own daughter's for a short period of time.

Three years later she was happier than ever. The McCall pack was a strong as it had ever been and nothing supernaturally threatening had happened to any of them. Caroline was a straight A-second grade student and Charlotte could already spell her whole entire long name. Lydia and Stiles were thriving just like they always had, their communication was perfect and their sex life was healthy, and that was evident because Lydia was pregnant with their third child but with their first boy. Things were pretty great for them and the rest of the McCall pack. Derek, Cora, and Isaac all moved back to Beacon Hills and pack dinners once a week were an event all members were required to attend.

They wondered if things would always be so blissful, with their luck probably not. But one day their kids would know the secrets of the town and maybe things would be different for them. Charlotte was completely human like her father but Caroline showed promise of Banshee abilities. Time would tell. But for now all Lydia knew was that she loved her pack, her kids, and her perfectly human husband, Stiles Stilinski.


End file.
